[Feeling the heat,] Ethiopia urges quick deployment of peacekeepers in Somalia

[Castro]

ADDIS ABABA (AFP) — Ethiopia on Tuesday called for a quick deployment of peacekeepers in war-ravaged Somalia, an African nation increasingly running adrift in the face on an escalating insurgency.

 

Of the 8,000 peacekeepers the African Union pledged to send to bolster President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed's weak government, only 1,500 Ugandan troops are actually on the round.

 

"The plan designed to deploy peacekeeping forces to Somalia should be materialised as soon as possible," the Ethiopian foreign ministry said in a statement.

 

Ethiopian troops helped sweep aside Islamist militants from much of the country they had briefly governed in January, but have been embroiled in a deadly insurgency mainly in Mogadishu.

 

Rebels recently dragged through the streets, stumped and spat on the bodies of Ethiopian troops, a grisly reminder of a similar treatment of US special forces in 1993.

 

Burundi and Nigeria had given firm pledges to contribute soldiers, but are yet to make good their word.

 

The Ethiopian foreign ministry called on the international community to facilitate efforts to restore durable peace in Somalia, where the last functional government collapsed in 1991 after the ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.

 

The escalating insurgency has seen UN chief Ban Ki-moon rule out sending any peacekeepers to the Horn of African nation, except for a "coalition of the willing."

 

But on Monday, the UN Security Council said there was need to pursue contingency planning for the possible deployment of UN troops, side-stepping Ban, but giving no promises.

 

Previous peacekeeping forays by the United Nations and the United States ended disastrously in the mid-1990s and the world turned its back, abandoning the country at the mercy of armed gangs.

 

AFP

[NGONGE]

^^

Don't be silly now. Explain yourself.

 

How could they feel the heat (meaning they want out?) and at the same time have long-term plans for Somalia? If the AU troops arrive as planned wouldn't that release Abdullahi Yusuf from being obliged to and under the influence of Ethiopia?

 

Hmmmmmm...GOT IT! The filthy Amxaar must be up to no good there.

[Che -Guevara]

^^^Seriously, whose side you are on?

[Castro]

Originally posted by NGONGE:

How could they feel the heat (meaning they want out?) and at the same time have long-term plans for Somalia? If the AU troops arrive as planned wouldn't that release Abdullahi Yusuf from being obliged to and under the influence of Ethiopia?

Somalis will deal with Abdillahi Yusuf in due time, inshallah. This is a welcome development that will derail, even if temporarily, Ethiopia's designs.

[xiinfaniin]

If it materializes, this could be a realistic means to remove Ethiopia’s presence in Somalia!

 

Yusuf would still be an issue but as Castro said somalis will deal him in due time!

[Fabregas]

Originally posted by NGONGE:

^^

Don't be silly now. Explain yourself.

 

How could they feel the heat (meaning they want out?) and at the same time have long-term plans for Somalia?

Their long term plan for Somalia is simply to have a Somali ruled by their buddies without any so called Islamists or any other armed anti Ethiopian movements. Of course they want out, but they can't leave when there are Anti Ethiopian forces in Somalia.

[NGONGE]

Originally posted by -:

^^^Seriously, whose side you are on?

That's a question I've been asking myself for a while now and still can't choose a side. I can see the glaring faults on all sides and can't bring myself to excuse them. Therefore, I decided to base my judgments on the demands, reasons and ideas why each group chooses to be where it is. The TFG says it is using Ethiopian help to bring Somalia back. It claims that Ethiopia is not important in the long term and that it is simply a short-term necessity. As the article above and Castro's words imply, there is a possibility that more AU troops may arrive, which in turn will minimise the active Ethiopian involvement in Somalia!

 

The majority of the opposition to the TFG is/was because of opposition to Ethiopia. If that country is out of the equation (or at least its involvement is diluted somewhat) it gives the TFG the chance to say that this was the plan all along. I dare not contradict them then! They'll milk this even more and brush aside all arguments relating to Ethiopian evil schemes for Somalia! Moreover, with no Ethiopian military presence in Somalia, Abdullahi Yusuf will be free to court any number of future suitors (i.e. deal directly with America, kiss Arab macawis or even suck on Chinese noodles). The Zenawi influence becomes debatable.

 

Don't lose me just yet. Hang on to my coat tails, saaxib. I'm going in a straight line and my caravan of thought is ignoring all the barking dogs. Now, if this should happen and if Ethiopia is OUT, the Resistance (excluding the Shabaab) may have to eat their own words and come to the table of discussion. After all, their deafening opposition in the past was all to do with Ethiopia, was it not?

Abdullah Yusuf will call their bluff by extending them the generous hand of reconciliation and asking them to come aboard and help in resurrecting their fallen country (or words to that effect). What will they do then? They've put all their eggs into the basket of Ethiopian evilness and should that Ethiopian excuse be removed they'll be well and truly stumped.

 

Ah! But all this is pie in the sky I can sense you saying to yourself. Of course it is. This is Somalia, saaxib. Nothing ever sticks to obvious, expected and simple outcomes here. The minute Ethiopia leaves and other AU troops arrive, the opposition will probably change their tune and start protesting about non-Muslim soldiers being in Somalia or, if they're Muslim, they'll complain about foreign troops in general! The TFG on the other hand will refuse to sit down and talk to what it considers a bunch of terrorists, etc.

 

An American senator once described the art of diplomacy as saying "good doggy" until you can find a rock big enough to bash the dog's head in! The TFG did this last year. They went to Sudan and other places to have discussions with the Courts. They bided their time and told the world about their readiness to talk. But the minute they got hold of that Ethiopian rock, they bashed the Courts' heads in. The Resistance (be it Courts, locals, Shabaab or whoever) are not playing the diplomacy game. Instead, they've turned into kamikaze dogs and are throwing themselves at that rock needlessly! Though I understand their desperation, frustration and the moral justification that threatens to be buried beneath all their other nonsense, I can't truthfully bring myself to cheer on the foolish methods they've chosen to employ. For if they take the fight to the enemy, the enemy WILL take the fight to them. When that happens (as we've seen) there is no point in wailing about civilians being killed and Ethiopian tanks trampling on women and children. The Resistance KNEW the consequences of their actions and must have understood that the Ethiopian soldiers and generals will have no qualms about blowing up entire neighbourhoods! I think a dreamy Nomad in here once referred to this as 'escalation'!

 

I don't see the Resistance winning this war anytime soon. I find them a nuisance and distraction. I don't believe a word they say and, rather like most Somalis, I don't think they have a clue. On the other hand, I don't have much faith in the TFG and think they have been lucky with the calibre of opposition they face. It is this clueless opposition that gives them stature and allows them to seem bigger than what they are. I believed it last year and still believe it now. Left to its own devices the TFG will eat itself out. It was never a united entity and it is very unlikely that it will ever become one.

 

You may not like this, but I reckon the Resistance should put down its arms and join the TFG. The best that could happen is that when the TFG starts to disintegrate, those former Resistance members with experience (though I fail to see any) could take the reigns and eventually run the country. If however, the TFG tricks those members of the Resistance at a later date and starts arresting them, executing them or even sending them to exile that's ok too. The Somalia that produced the Sayid, USC, SNM, ICU and many others could easily produce another Resistance movement. It will only mean that three-year-old Shukri will not have to die today but in ten, fifteen or thirty years time.

 

Now do you know which side I am on? No? Me neither.

[Castro]

^^^ Even with your clairvoyance, you should still choose a side. The resistance is imperfect and down right clumsy but its faults far are outweighed by those of puppet Yey and his cabal.

 

In exactly 12 months or less, the TFG has gone from the hope of Somalis to the greatest threat Somalis face today. By all accounts, 60% of the capital is now empty of its inhabitants. Thousands have died violently and thousands more will die of starvation.

 

The resistance is crude, clumsy and may even be confused but it has not even come close to being on par with the Tigray and their puppets. The latter are public enemy number one. The Tigray will retreat as their own benefactor will pull the plug on them. The TFG will have imploded long before that happens. All you're left with is the resistance, and this is not only confined to the Asmara Group. Many groups are resisting the occupation inside and outside Somalia and many of them are doing so without the use of a gun. Don't get hung up on the tactics of those who've decided to use violence against the enemy. It's the only language this enemy understands.

[NGONGE]

^^ For me, the maths does not add up. I'd rather exhaust all other avenues before yielding to the certainty of war and death. It's not out of sentiment though. People die when they're meant to die but for those that are still alive one has to consider all the options that would prolong their lives. Pride, dignity, self-respect and national identity are empty slogans that I find despicable in these circumstances. But, of course, that's just me...

[Resistance]

Of the little time i've spent reading the comments posted here, Ngone does talk sense most times and i think he is a valid reason for not choosing either side.

 

But brothers and sisters there is a third way, a way that does not have to be 'black and white' but a multi-layered, multi-purpose approach to solve Somalia's problem. But today we face an immediate danger of coming under the control of an Enemy and i fear if they have their way it may take decades to overturn their influence on Somalia's matters and direction, which why a short term resistance that can distrub their plans must waged and supported.

[Che -Guevara]

Now do you know which side I am on? No? Me neither.

I like your agonistic humor.I think you would throw your support with whoever wins in the end.Hate to speculate,but my guts tells me you believe the TFG would outlast the rest,hence your favorable of Duke's hero atleast as I gleaned from many other posts of yours.

 

I do however agree with your assessment of the many actors in the Somali political landscape.And the sad thing about Somali movements is many wither eventually since they don't plan beyond the day of glory, and explains the demise of the courts, USC, SSDF, and SNM though with SNM, one could argue they faired better compared to others.

[Fabregas]

Originally posted by NGONGE:

quote:Originally posted by -:

^^^Seriously, whose side you are on?

Now, if this should happen and if Ethiopia is OUT, the Resistance (excluding the Shabaab) may have to eat their own words and come to the table of discussion. After all, their deafening opposition in the past was all to do with Ethiopia, was it not?

Abdullah Yusuf will call their bluff by extending them the generous hand of reconciliation and asking them to come aboard and help in resurrecting their fallen country (or words to that effect). What will they do then?

They wil be probably have to swallow their pride and sit down and swallow their pride and sit down at a qurac tree with the oldman himself. Of coursr some groups will probably declare them infidels for sitting down with the devil himself.But the question that remains is whether Ethiopia will simply pull out if African troops arrive in Somalia.I mean, imagine if thousands of African troops arrive but Hassan Turki and his associated militias are still active in Somalia will the Ethiopians simply slip back to their border?

[NASSIR]

Originally posted by NGONGE:Originally posted by -:

You may not like this, but I reckon the Resistance should put down its arms and join the TFG. The best that could happen is that when the TFG starts to disintegrate, those former Resistance members with experience (though I fail to see any) could take the reigns and eventually run the country. If however, the TFG tricks those members of the Resistance at a later date and starts arresting them, executing them or even sending them to exile that's ok too. The Somalia that produced the Sayid, USC, SNM, ICU and many others could easily produce another Resistance movement. It will only mean that three-year-old Shukri will not have to die today but in ten, fifteen or thirty years time.

 

Now do you know which side I am on? No? Me neither.

Ngonge, one comment I made at Hiiraan under the article "Clean the vandals" coincides with your conclusion. One of the respondents there falsely profeses that he knows me.

I think if we debate and reason enough, we would understand our differences whether it is as a matter of values and priorities, means or ends, consequences and implications, or principles and virtues.

The forced withdrawal of Ethiopia from Somalia should not be a perquisite stuck in our heads. What if our people make peace with one another and let this government materialize.

The same way we revolted against an established regime like Barre's regime, we can also revolt against this regime. However, we aren't willing to give time and chance. We are not willing to build the institutions of this government and henceforth reform its shortcomings.

The opposition group is not willing to compromise or allow for mediation. And it is being supported by Eritrea. Looking from this fact, you would come to an unassailable conclusion that the two main groups are battling in Somalia for their own self-interest and each one has a different ideological platform to rule Somalia, which eventually excludes the rest. It is like winner takes all.

Let me ask you this question? Would the U.N Trusteeship had left Somalia without giving the core courses to govern our selves and without building the institutions?

I am not saying Ethiopia is here to colonize us but it is protecting the fragile TFG, which can’t defend itself from heavily armed self-interest groups of all kind, and whom had held our country hostage for so long.